Iman Urooj Innovating in a Family Business

The Pakistani-Venezuelan Iman Urooj began her entrepreneurial journey in childhood as part of her family’s business. The company, PakCaribe International, enables companies worldwide to bring food products to Middle Eastern markets. When Iman graduated from college at New York University, where she studied history and economics, she took on greater roles at PakCaribe.

Traveling the world non-stop building relationships with companies, Iman was quick to recognize opportunities to create new businesses within her family’s enterprise. But, interestingly, she wasn’t confident in her capabilities to act on the opportunities.

So Iman enrolled in the MIT Bootcamp’s online course Entrepreneurship 101: Who Is Your Customer?. Studying online made it possible for her to learn with structure amidst her intensive schedule. But the more she progressed in the course, the more she craved to test her new skills and to meet likeminded peers from around the world.

This is why Iman enrolled in the MIT Global Entrepreneurship Bootcamp. “I left the Bootcamp knowing that the people you collaborate with and how well you execute is far more significant than an idea,” remembers Iman, adding that she now looks at the Bootcamp as her extended family.

Furthermore, Iman believes, the Bootcamp reignited her family business by combining in her the many-generational knowledge of her family business with the frameworks for innovation that she learned at MIT.

There’s already some exciting progress to report on. While Iman continues to grow the family business in the food industry, she and her father are developing an altogether new line of business. This new enterprise will bring affordable and sustainable building materials to Karachi. With a population of over 24 million, the city is expanding rapidly and its development needs better materials. Iman is poised for the opportunity.

How can the MIT Global Entrepreneurship Bootcamp shape your future? Find out more about the program and apply today.